Chapitre 619: The Contract of the Century

Read Early Content on Patre0n. Also consider Commenting and Joining Discord all on this URL: https://linktr.ee/donovel

[Join us on Patre0n for extra 12 Chapters]

Astrid sat at the head of the table where she always does and her silence was reaching all the way to her very thoughts even so everyone in her surroundings was noisily arguing. She was simply too lost in her thoughts to care about the others at this moment.

She recapped the situation a few more times in her head.

Serana is the newest Assassin she recruited, an excellent one, one with a dark past and a heavy sadness. For a vampire, Serana is gentle and passive almost like a doll… a highly luxurious doll that is made of the best materials on the land.

This girl who was thought to be a random vampire made a 300 years old vampire-like Babette act meekly around her as if they were two different beings. Even in her feeding habits, Serana acted more like a noble vampire rather than being as messy as Babette. Almost magically elegant! One bite and the blood of her victims would withdraw gently from their bodies and just… die.

Astrid was still processing the situation she's in. Long ago, they became the only surviving offshoot of the death cult of the Dark Brotherhood and they lost a lot of their power and connections outside Skyrim. Astrid kept the wheel going and increased the number of assassins which allowed this sanctuary to survive.

After the death of Alisanne Durpe, there was no listening for almost 15 years and Astrid knew just the way to operate this sanctuary and so she devised a new system. Herself as well as Nazir would roam Skyrim undercover and look for those who are looking for the Dark Brotherhood. It was easier than any would think since rumors fly stringless between the Nords.

Once she marks enough clients, she would go back and distribute the contracts to the assassins. Each of them would take a few clients at the same time which gives each of them a few months of traveling and contracting. Eventually and by the end of every season, they would all return to the Sanctuary and share what is going on.

That was how Astrid managed the Assassins without a Listener since she was the acting Listener, to begin with. She would do her best to gather intel on those who carry on the Black Sacrament and would deliver that back to the Brotherhood.

Not even the Night Mother was needed.

So why now? Why would a Listener emerge?

Astrid felt that all that she built was in danger and is going to be undone so soon so she had to formulate a plan and refocus.

"Alright! Quit blabbing!" She called out, making everyone in the room drop silent right away.

She was sitting down in her seat and appeared as someone who is totally in control despite the storm brewing in her mind. Those who looked at her were waiting for her judgment as the leader of this Sanctuary.

"The appearance of the Listener changes nothing." Astrid said.

These words were enough to make the entire Dark Brotherhood turn heads left and right and look at each other.

"The appearance of the Listener changes nothing… We are Assassins and we will always be there to deliver our contracts whether the source is the Night Mother or our outsider sources." Astrid said.

Her words were rather crafty. At first, she tested out the assassins' willingness to return to the old creed. She put on a hostile phrase at first to test out their reactions then swiftly retracted it to not cause any unnecessary opposition. By doing that, she managed to take a look at all the reactions of the people in the room and take note of who can be with her and who will be against her.

"But we must welcome the return of the old ways. This is a change for the better in our Sanctuary." The old man Festus Krex said as he sneered at Astrid.

Of course he would do that since he knows all of Astrid's tricks. He's not particularly against her but likes to be troublesome for nothing.

"Hmph!" Astrid snorted, "Of course we do. But need I remind you of the state of disorder we have been in the last few years? While we welcome the Listener, we need to take care of many loose ends first. Serana is one of us alright and I am the one who recruited her myself so I know her well. Serana, are you sure enough of your ability as a Listener?"

"What is the meaning of this? The Listener is the Listener! There is no way the Listener isn't sure of her abilities… this is simply…" The one who retorted badly just now as Cicero.

He seemed to be very devoted to the fact that there is a new Listener after so many years and due to the fact that he occupies the position of the Keeper, it is going to be even more problematic to Astrid this way but his words were cut short by what seemed to be music to Astrid's ears.

"I am not." Serana's words echoed through the hall as she sat all the way opposite from Astrid at the end of the long table.

Astrid, who stood over the top of the table, smiled faintly as she looked at Serana with pleased eyes.

"How exactly are you not able to… control being a Listener?" Babette asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Haven't you seen what happened to me after "Listening" once?" Serana asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to ask about that?" Arnbjorn seemed curious as well.

"Well… most of you are oblivious to my past but in my head, there's more than just one voice. Having the Night Mother added to the mix doesn't feel good to me so… it'll be hard to tell which is which." Serana replied.

Her words caused a state of unrest all of a sudden. Astrid was very pleased with what she heard and sat back in her seat which she guaranteed as the Leader of this Sanctuary.

"I promise to offer all the aid that the Listener needs during her mission as the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood." Astrid spoke, "With the difficulties facing her, we are all bound to do the same. I think we all agree on that."

Her words were still effective in her sanctuary, all the assassins showed respect and complied with Astrid without a hint of disagreement. After all, the supposed Listener Serana isn't doing great and seems to be hearing more than just the Night Mother. This is problematic since no one wanted to get between a force such as the Night Mother and her Listener… no one except Astrid.

"Listener, I…" Cicero approached Serana with a mournful face as he seemed disappointed over the fact that the Listener he finally found isn't doing well and wanted to encourage her with words but he found her look even more tranquil.

"It's alright, Cicero." Serana replied, "I am sorry to disappoint you."

"No! Lady Serana… my good lady… I am just trying to say you need to be careful and… try your best." Cicero said and walked away back to the chamber of the Night Mother.

"Nice act you did there." Astrid approached Serana as she leaned against the large table resting her butt on.

"It wasn't an act." Serana replied, taking a careful distance and avoiding eye contact.

"Hmmm. Truly?" Astrid said, "It is funny how you are called the Listener and we're still supposed to Listen to you."

"I am not interested in such a thing." Serana said, "I've said what you wanted me to say, I understand that you are pleased now."

"I am. You made me quite happy, girl. Nothing's more important than our family being on the same page. That's how we ran this guild without killing each other for the past 15 years." Astrid stood off the table and walked closer to Serana, "I've met the previous Listener… Alisanne Durpe, that's her name. Quite the vicious woman she was. I heard that her end was so horrible that she died ablaze."

"Horrible."

"I guess. She was a bitch. Almost smoked this entire sanctuary once."

Astrid and Serana had a moment of exchanging words, the same as the one they had before tonight's meeting. Astrid told Serana to keep the Listener matter down as she did as she was told without being stubborn.

"So the Jester talks to himself, I suspect him to be working with someone and send to spy on him, he turns out to be innocent and you turn out to be the Listener." Astrid sighed.

"That sums it up." Serana replied.

"Fate is a dangerous game indeed." Astrid said, "Alright, what was the name of the Contract the Night Mother gave you?"

"Amaund Motierre near the ruins of Volunruud."

"Look. Something is happening here. I'm not sure entirely what that something is, but... Well, we need to find out. If the Night Mother really did give you an order to talk to a contact, we'd be mad to ignore it. And I think we'd both agree, Cicero's brought quite enough madness to this Sanctuary. So go. Go to Volunruud. It's a crypt, pretty far to the northeast. Talk to this Amaund Motierre. And let's see where all this leads." Astrid displayed a little bit of shakiness as she gave Serana the order.

"You've made your mind faster than I thought." Serana said.

"Did I? Well, I had the entire day thinking about it and thanks to the scene you've made, now everyone else knows about it. I'd have kept this thing between the two of us since I am the Leader here and I won't have my authority challenged by new blood such as yourself but the others are pulling their weight on this one as well. I don't know what you're walking into but be careful of what you bring in your heels, Serana."

"I understand." Serana nodded.

Jon has informed Serana that if everything goes according to his predictions then Astrid would take some time before deciding to give her a particular job. Jon's ability to know the future surely baffled Serana in the past but this time, it seemed that Astrid did something Jon didn't predict.

Should she report to Jon first or treat it as something normal? But how can she? The Listener… the True Listener is not her at all but rather Jon and all she did was to hear the Night Mother through Gluttony.

It vexed Serana how reliant on Jon she had become but she swallowed the better pill and left the sanctuary. Yet outside the sanctuary was a man veiled and tracking Serana with his eyes as he madly ate his fingernails.

"Treachery!" The voice of the mad jester whispered in anger as he watched the Listener walk away.

***

Serana arrived at Morthal town and from it, she traveled to Volunruud as fast as she could. For a vampire, she would transform into a swarm of bats and fly through the night unhindered across the sky of Skyrim thus this flight took her almost 9 hours and she made it through 400 miles almost drained of stamina. Lucky for her, she discovered a band of war deserters nearby and thus she committed a massacre and restored her energy.

As she approached Volunruud, she made sure she would appear as mysterious as ever so that her client would feel intimidated. That was her way of dealing with nosy humans.

The moment she entered the crypt, she noticed that most of the ancient traps were recently disabled and the draugr were all destroyed. Following the tracks of destruction, she soon arrived at a chamber at the edge of the crypt where a man was sitting and another man standing behind him.

The sitting man was short with a fox-like face and Imperial skin tone. The standing man was wearing a Legionary's armor and seemed Imperial as well with a little bit of a Nordishness.

"By the almighty Divines! You've come. You've actually come. This dreadful Black Sacrament thing... it worked." Once the sitting man saw Serana, his eyes gleamed with surprise and he jumped off his stool.

Serana looked the little man up and down and made sure she remained ambiguous in her assassin robes as only her chin was shown from the loosely large hood. She also didn't reply and remained silent.

"Right, then. You prefer to listen, is that it? Well, you must represent the Dark Brotherhood. I certainly wasn't expecting anyone else." The little man said as he spoke excitedly and stuttered, "So I'll cut to the chase. I would like to arrange a contract. Several, actually. I daresay, the most important work your organization has had in, well... centuries."

"Go on!" The words were enticing enough for Serana to faintly reply.

"As I said, I want you to kill several people. You'll find the targets, as well as their manners of elimination, quite varied. I'm sure someone of your disposition will probably even find it enjoyable. But you should know that these killings are but a means to an end. For they pave the way to the most important target. The real reason I'm speaking with a cutthroat in the bowels of this detestable crypt. For I seek the assassination of… the Emperor."

"The what of whom?" Serana was momentarily taken aback and spat out.

After she escaped Castle Volkihar a few months ago with Jon, she immersed herself in all manner of books that she didn't get to read for the past 1000 years. Safe to say that she has gained all the knowledge she needs to catch up on any topic in the modern world.

So she understood what it meant for this Amaund Motierre to just come and say "Kill the Emperor!".

"That is correct! What I ask is no small thing, of course. But you represent the Dark Brotherhood. This is what you do? No? You must understand. So much has led to this day. So much planning, and maneuvering. Now, it's as if the very stars have finally aligned. But I digress." Amaund said then looked back and signaled to the man behind him, "Here, take these. They need to be delivered to your, um... superior. Rexus! The items!"

As per said, the Soldier brought the items his master asked for and handed them to Serana. One item is a sealed letter that is surely addressed to Astrid, the other is an amulet with an Imperial design.

Serana raised the amulet and took a look at it but couldn't decide its origin.

"The sealed letter will explain everything that needs to be done. The amulet is quite valuable. You can use it to pay for any and all expenses." Amaund said and clapped his hand, "So I guess that's where we…"

Serana looked at him and before he continued, she disappeared in a puff of black mist.

"Wow! Rexus, did you see that? That's insane!"

Read Early Content on Patre0n. Also consider Commenting and Joining Discord all on this URL: https://linktr.ee/donovel

[Join us on Patre0n for extra 12 Chapters]

L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS
El_Don

Come to Patreon for more of this!

commentaire Commentaire 25

Voter

next chapter

Chapitre 620: Betrayal

Read Early Content on Patre0n. Also consider Commenting and Joining Discord all on this URL: https://linktr.ee/donovel

[Join us on Patre0n for extra 12 Chapters]

"So, you've taken the contract?"

Serana couldn't stand being snuck at from behind as she watched Amaund Motierre and his guard leave. The fact that the one who snuck on her was Jon made it even worse since Serana was sincerely pissed at the moment.

"Bastard!"

"Woah!"

Different from her aloofness, this Serana seemed to be aggressive and on fire.

"Cute little fangs… what has gotten into you?" Jon evaded her claws with ease.

"You! Bastard! You! Put! That! Thing! In! Me!" She said as she vigorously attacked him with her claws left and right.

"I am sure I didn't." Jon held his laughter as he replied.

"LAIR!"

"If I ever did, you would be thanking me by now."

Serana stopped as she furrowed her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" She asked in confusion.

"The thing I put in…" Jon was about to reply as he pointed towards his thing but he became confused midway, "What are you talking about?"

Serana traced where Jon was pointing and looked at him with unamused eyes.

"Whoops!" Jon replied with a sly smile.

Serana immediately stopped her tantrum and turned away as she transformed into a swarm of bats and flew away from him.

"Being upset, huh? Alright. Let's see how long you can play." Jon sneered and immediately started flying after her.

Serana's flight speed was much higher than Jon's since her innate ability of a Vampire Lord was so powerful but Jon compensated for the speed difference between flying and levitating by overcharging his Magicka.

As the two flew, Serana noticed Jon's presence drawing closer and it suddenly became dangerous to stay.

*Buzz*

A blade of Aura flew past her swarm form as it almost put a wound on her which caused Serana to pause her flight and focus on where it came from.

Jon was currently hiding in the night sky between the fog and clouds and his presence became distorted.

"Come out!" She shouted.

"STRUN BAH QO!" Jon replied but his voice echoed in the sky and made it go upset.

Serana looked left and right and felt the agitation in the weather while trying to remember what those words meant. She knew that in the Dragon Language, STRUN means Storm and BAH is probably Anger which means…

*CRACKLE*

Serana always knew that Thunder would always come after Lightning but this time, she witnessed it all up close as a storm was suddenly brewing in the clouds around.

"You madman!" She uttered in fear.

"Bingo!" Jon replied as he was right behind her.

She looked behind but the horror she saw was that of a dragon head staring down at her through the clouds. Lightning struck again and the heavens were illuminated with the sight of Jon standing where that mirage of a Dragon was.

The bolt of lightning rushed towards Jon as he raised his fist and descended towards Serana.

Serana raised her arms in a desperate defense.

The Lightning hit Jon's fist and…

*BOOM*

"Thunder Cookie!"

The heaven turned silent and the storm was shattered.

Jon created a storm with his voice and shattered it with his bare hand. The fist which he used to do so just passed Serana's head and its force exploded an inch away from her.

She fell into a complete mess… and she lost all her power to fall down from the sky.

Jon, whose hands were still smoking, watched the vampire girl fall from the sky with cold eyes before he gave a long sigh.

"That was the stick… and this is the carrot."

Jon disabled his spell and made a free fall right after her. Fixing his aerodynamics, he caught up to her in mere seconds.

Seeing how she lost her strength and gave up on facing him, he knew he finally got to her.

Serana may be a cute millennium-old vampire girl but deep in her head, she is someone who suffered and developed a rebel personality.

He held her west as they fell and their long hair fluttered behind them as the world turned upside down in a scenery where they swirled together as if dancing on a floor made of stars.

Jon didn't let go and she opened her eyes once she felt him.

"Do you hate me?" He asked.

"…" Serana didn't reply and gave up on resisting him.

"I don't own you, Serana, I don't control you."

"Really?" She finally spoke as she asked.

Her attitude was a sign of her displeasure with what Jon did to her by putting a piece of Gluttony inside her head. She, who suffered from the Blood Parasite the most, is the last person who wants to be exposed to that thing again.

"I'll make it up for you." Jon said and exposed his neck to her.

Serana was aware of how dangerous Jon's blood can be since he has a bizarre ability to control his own blood even if it goes outside his body. The ability makes him the bane to all vampires. However, his blood was something that can't be compared to the blood of any other mortal.

She took Jon for his offer and as she took a bite, the two of them continued falling down the sky all the way down into the Karth River, right next to Dragonbridge.

The storm has long since settled but the rain continued to fall during the night and the two barely made it out of the river. Serana was crawling on her knees and Jon walked out of the river right after her. There was no one but them on the rocky riverside.

"… Monster…" She said as she looked back at him.

He stood over her with a smile of victory as blood dripped on his unusually long fangs. Jon's eyes took a different shape as well before suddenly turning back to normal.

"Wanna celebrate?" He lifted her up and pulled her closer.

"Do I get to choose?" She asked as she dug her claws through this shirt into his skin.

"Sadly, I am getting hard already." He replied as he held her assassin robes from the shoulders.

Serana tore his shirt from the front drawing 10 lines of blood over her skin and watching it closely. Jon completely tore her robe and left her nude.

Serana jumped on Jon and hugged his waist with her legs.

"I won't lose again." She said.

"HA!" Jon laughed and looked the seducing vampire in the eyes, "You sure about that?"

She who decided to mate with him on a whim seemed too confident this time so she nodded.

"Knock knock!" He said.

She narrowed her eyes before replying.

"… Who's there?" She asked but just a moment after, her eyes were wide open with shock.

"Big Boy Dare!"

***

After a minor earthquake hitting Hjaalmarch last night, Jon and Serana decided to stop lazing around under the blue sky and near the river.

Jon was enjoying a little sunbath as Serana laid down in the shadow not far from him.

"You didn't have to tear my clothes into halves. I am not good at mending things that are damaged."

"It was worth it."

"What was it?"

"Seeing your boobies wiggle." Jon winked.

"You're the enemy of all women indeed." She sighed.

"Who said that?" He asked.

"I've heard things when I went around investigating who you really are… as a person, I mean."

"Things?"

"You… having a lot of lovers."

"I wouldn't call them lovers." He said, "Just some fellow Dibella enthusiasts."

"People said a lot of things." She added.

"All these women would thank me, you know."

"What about the men?" She asked.

"EWW!" Jon almost covered his body, "GOD NO!"

"I meant the men who settled in with these women afterward. They hate you." She said.

"They can try the Troll Marrow Extract. I have no secrets regarding that." Jon said.

"Yeah… the men would go extinct hunting trolls." Serana replied sarcastically, "Or will it be the trolls?"

"Neither is my problem. I use Dragon Marrow Extract now." Jon laughed as he started to stand up and put on his pants.

As he did so, he noticed some people hiding behind the rocks of the river. These happened to be some girls from the nearby town of Dragonbridge who came down to do the laundry.

"Ladies!" Jon smiled.

Most of the girls cried in shame and covered their faces as they started running back to town.

"They've been watching you for half an hour now." Serana added.

"I always welcome the audience." Jon winked, "But I'm afraid this includes our meeting today. You vented your frustration and sexual tension so you can hate me less now."

"I am sure you were the one venting all night." She replied.

"Did I?" He tried to remember, "Anyway, you're the one who slept with the most handsome young man in the world. You can feel a little bit lucky."

Serana opened her mouth in an attempt to retort at how shameless Jon was but she ended up laughing in awe.

He smiled at her as well but she looked at his smile and realized that she was laughing at his jokes after she slept with him. She was angry at him and somehow, he made her forget her anger.

She wasn't particularly angry at Jon but rather angry at a series of different situations and circumstances. She, a daughter of Coldharbour, is a person who was meant to be traumatized from any sexual experience yet somehow Jon, the one she was angry at, slipped past her defenses and acted the way he liked.

Her smile disappeared afterward.

"I have a question." She said.

"Go ahead." Jon replied as he was done wearing his clothes.

"Am I someone you want to control?" She asked.

"No, not at all." Jon casually replied.

"So… you have no qualms if I leave the Dark Brotherhood and ignore your "missions" or whatever you call it."

"I don't." Jon replied, "I prefer if you do it for me as a favor. In order to show my appreciation to you, I will be at your beck and call."

"A favor it is." She said, then asked, "But for how long?"

"Until I have the Brotherhood around my finger. After that, you can expect anything from me."

"Thanks. I will hold you up to your offer one day." She said and stood up as well.

"By the way." Jon continued, "A band of Vampire hunters called the Dawnguard has been formed. They are hunting down the Volkihar Clan."

"Best of luck to them." Serana walked past Job and put her hood on.

"Let's meet at their place after this is all over, shall we?" Jon added.

"I don't mind." Serana didn't stop and traveled through the shade in her bat swarm form before disappearing in the shade of the Dragon Bridge.

Jon donned his cloak and put his hood on then started playing with his appearance a little using Lust. His hair became black and his eyes turned grey then he added some age marks on his face and walked towards the town.

In a matter of minutes, Jon was standing in the middle of town and Serana was already past the bridge. Both of them looked back towards where they expected the other to be.

Serana suddenly raised her head up and struggled as her body started making strange noises. Her neck started to move unnaturally and then her tongue stretched off her mouth.

From her tongue, a ruby-like bead of crystalized blood appeared and she let that bead slide down in a small flask.

"Well…" She spoke in a grim but soft voice, "I've got what I needed, Jon Dare."

She closed the flask and hid it from sunlight then started traveling.

In the town, Jon made a wide sneer as his intentions couldn't help but to surface on his face. He stood in front of an Imperial Outpost of the Penitus Oculatus and slowly walked ahead to knock on the door.

The door barely opened and a man looked through the gap with his eyes.

"Name and purpose of visit." The man said.

"The name is Krilon the Mercenary. As for the purpose…"

The man's eyes widened for what Jon said next.

"… I would like to report that I discovered the location of the Dark Brotherhood's Hideout."

Read Early Content on Patre0n. Also consider Commenting and Joining Discord all on this URL: https://linktr.ee/donovel

[Join us on Patre0n for extra 14 Chapters]

commentaire Commentaire 27

Voter